Women's Water Polo Heads to California For 10 Games

Mar 14, 2014

The Crimson will play six ranked opponents during its trip out west (photo courtsey: Gil Talbot).

Scene SetterThe Harvard women's water polo team makes its annual trip to the west coast for 10 games in eight days over spring break. The Crimson will first face Cal Lutheran, No. 19 San Diego State, No. 13 UC San Diego and No. 10 San Jose State at the Aztec Invite hosted by San Diego State University. Harvard will then visit Whittier, Pomona, Cal Lutheran, No. 7 Cal State Northridge, No. 2 UCLA and No. 16 Santa Barbara during the trip.

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Ivy League Digital Network The Ivy League Digital Network will stream the Crimson's remaining home events at Blodgett Pool this season. All 17 games across the two-day event will be stream. Subscribers to the network can watch matches both live and on-demand at their convenience, and will have access to live and on-demand content for all home Harvard athletic events through the duration of their subscription.

Share the WealthSeven Crimson student-athletes have reached double-figure scoring, while 14 of the 15 members of the squad have recorded at least one goal. Yoshi Andersen leads the Crimson in goals with 35, while Shayna Price isn't far behind with 32 scores. Michelle Martinelli has buried 19 goals and Melissa Balding has added 18 to lead all first year players.

In Between The Pipes Junior co-captain Ariel Dukes has made 104 stops in net for the Crimson.

Playing in March When playing in the month of March, Harvard owns a 126-79 all-time record (.614).

Racking up the Awards Harvard has earned five Collegiate Water Polo awards this season. Most recently, Melissa Balding was named Rookie of the Week (March 11) for her efforts at the Harvard Invite. Yoshi Andersen picked up Player of the Week honors (Feb. 4). Senior Jelena Cyr' was tabbed Player of the Week Feb. 11. Michelle Martinelli and Alexis Del Toro were honored as Rookies of the Week Feb. 4 and Feb. 25 respectively.Related Link:Balding Collects CWPA Rookie of the Week Honors

Head Coach Ted Minnis In his fourth season at the helm of the Harvard program, Ted Minnis surpassed former head coach Erik Farrar (2005-10) to become the fourth winningest coach in program history with a 60-49 record. Minnis needs two more wins to move past Jim Flerchinger (62-47) and six more wins to move ahead head coach Maureen Travers (66-38).

Live Stats Harvard will continue to test a live stat program known as FOSH throughout the season. The program was developed by Ryan Sosin, Harvard's director of operations, and provides fans with a more statistical view of the game, including a look at play-by-play, a scoring summary and goaltending and exclusion stats. While still hovering around the developmental stage, Harvard aims to continue the innovative trend with Fosh moving forward.

All-time Against the FieldHarvard owns a 31-50 all-time record when playing opponents from the Golden State. The Crimson will play Cal Lutheran and Cal State Northridge for the first time in program history. The Crimson trails San Diego State (0-2), UC San Diego (0-2), San Jose State (0-4), Pomona (1-6), UCLA (0-2), and Santa Barbara (0-3). The Crimson hopes to remain undefeated against Whittier as Harvard currently leads the series 2-0.

Schedule of Games
Below is Harvard's Schedule of games for the 11-day trip

Date

Opponent

Time (Listed in PST)

Saturday, March 15 (Aztec Invite)

Cal Lutheran

11:45 p.m.

Saturday, March 15 (Aztec Invite)

San Diego State

4:45 p.m.

Sunday, March 16 (Aztec Invite)

UC San Diego

9:15 a.m.

Sunday, March 16 (Aztec Invite)

San Jose State

2:15 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19

Whittier

1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19

Pomona-Pitzer

7:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 20

Cal Lutheran

4:45 p.m.

Thursday, March 20

Cal State Northridge

5:00 p.m.

Friday, March 21

UCLA

7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 22

UC Santa Barbara

12:00 p.m.

Looking AheadThe Crimson will head to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. to take on the Colonials in a CWPA Southern Division match up March 29. The game is slated for noon.